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In order to perform to the best of your ability in your training sessions, in your matches, and in your gym workouts, your body must be fueled properly.
A solid nutrition matters just as much as your training routine for soccer.
If your nutrition is trash, expect your body to reproduce that trash in your sessions and in your games.
But how do you eat healthy? Do you have to cut carbs? Do you have to restrict yourself from the sugary cookies of sweetness sitting across from you at corner of the kitchen at this very moment?
Luckily, you don't have to cut carbs, or restrict yourself from the foods you love.
However, there are many other aspects of nutrition that you must follow in order to feel and perform to the best of your ability out on the pitch.
In this blog post, you will learn the basics of a successful nutrition plan, and what you should be looking to eat as an athlete to fuel yourself correctly.
The Importance of A Good Nutrition
As athletes, we can't just eat whatever we'd like like the average person. We are constantly pushing our bodies to their limit, and burning tons of calories.
Our muscle tissues are constantly being broken down by the training we do, and as we workout or train, our body's metabolic system is working to be able to fuel your muscles to have the energy to perform for as long as they can.
Without the proper nutrition, your body will not be fueled properly to be able to handle the demands of a high intensity action or be able to recover after a strenuous workout. Your muscle cells will be out of good, quality fuel that will allow it to function properly.
This is because when you workout, your body requires energy from the food we eat and digest in order to be able to deliver it to the working muscles. If the food we consume is full of junk and nutrients that aren't beneficial to the human body (for example sugar, and unsaturated fats and simple carbs from candy or chips), then our body will not be fuel the muscle cells with quality energy to allow it to work to it's maximum capacity.
Food is also essential for the way we recover. Like mentioned before, when we workout and train, our muscle tissues are being broken down, and need repairing in order to grow stronger.
In order to do that, we need to feed our body with sufficient protein and other essential micronutrients in order for our body to be able to stimulate it's biological process of protein synthesis.
If we fail to have a good nutrition, and feed our body with junk foods while it is trying to recover, then your recovery times will take longer since your body doesn't have the sufficient amount of quality protein in order to aid the recovery process. This means you will constantly be sore for longer, you will feel more pains and small injuries from a lack of recovery, and inflammation will build up to higher levels in your body.
What Should I Be Eating?
As athletes, we need to pay attention to how much macronutrients we are consuming on a daily basis. Macronutrients are the main nutrients found in foods that are essential to our health and bodily functions. The 3 main macronutrients are Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Essential Fats.
Each of these essential macronutrients have their own important roles in our body, and as athletes, we need to make sure we are consuming enough of each to give our body the nourishment it needs to perform, to do it's internal function properly, and to recover.
Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy. When we consume carbs, our body breaks the food down into glycogen. Think of glycogen as stores of glucose, which is broken down into energy to fuel our cells. Your body stores this glycogen in your muscle tissues and your liver cells for later use.
When we workout, our body looks to break down it's stores of glucose in order to be able to have that immediate source of energy to provide for our bodies with the fuel it needs to be able to function.
The stored glucose is also used by our bodies to help our muscles be able to recover and grow. The cells in our body are constantly working, and they need the carbohydrates we get from food in order for the mitochondrion in our cells to break that down into a source of energy called ATP, which is the essential component of energy that our body uses.
This source of energy will help our body be able to perform it's biological processes that allow us to recover quickly.
Proteins are the essential building blocks of our athletics physique. When we break down our muscle tissues through strenuous exercises, our body automatically uses the proteins in our body to perform a bodily process called protein synthesis, which is the process of creating new muscle tissues and nerve cells to replace damaged cells. This process is behind muscle growth and strength gains.
If you want to get the most our of your workout and training sessions, you must provide your body with the proteins it needs to aid the recovery process, which will make you stronger as a result.
Fats are heavily misunderstood by many people. Just because this macronutrient is referred to with the very thing you don't want to gain, that doesn't mean it's bad.
Fats are essential for our body since they stimulate our hormones, provide essential nutrients to strengthen our immune system, and to prevent the build-up of high amounts of inflammation in the body.
In order to live a long, healthy life, completely disregarding athletics and performance, you must consume healthy source of omega 3 fatty acids to support your body's internal systems.
By incorporating these three macronutrients into your diet, your body will be able to perform at high levels through strenuous exercises, and it will be able to perform it's daily functions and roles efficiently throughout the day.
Alongside eating foods rich in these macronutrients, you also want to make sure you are eating a variety of vegetables and foods high in micronutrients and minerals.
Micronutrients will provide your body with the essential vitamins, and smaller nutrients that will protect your body from disease, further aid in the roles and functions of the systems in our body, and strengthen our internal organs.
How Much Should I Eat?
The amount of each macronutrient you must consume depends heavily on the individual's goals, injury status, time of season, and overall health.
For example, if you're trying to gain weight and more muscle mass, you would probably want to consume more of each macronutrient in order to ensure that you are staying in a healthy calorie surplus. While someone who is trying to cut fat and lose weight, will most likely eat less of each macronutrient in order to keep their calories low and make sure their bodies are forcing the burning of excess bodyfat.
Someone who's training very intensely daily will need more energy than someone who is recovering from injury, so the amount of macros they consume will differ.
However, there are some general recommendations that all athletes should look to follow when trying to decide how much they should eat.
For proteins, look to consume around 0.8 grams - 1.2 g of protein for every pound of bodyweight. This will ensure your body has enough protein in order to stimulate protein synthesis and help your muscles recover quicker.
For Fats, look to consume around 0.5 grams of healthy fats for every pound of bodyweight. This will ensure that you body has the essential nutrients to be able to support it's internal systems.
For carbohydrates, there isn't a set number or ratio you should be looking to consume. Generally, the amount of carbohydrates you eat depends entirely on your activity levels. If you're someone who burns tons of calories daily and needs more energy, then you're going to want to consume higher amounts of carbs. While if you're someone who isn't performing high amounts of activity, for example, someone who is injured, will need less carbs since they aren't burning as much calories.
The amount of carbs you eat depends entirely on how many calories you burn, which is why it is recommended that everyone who is looking to improve their nutrition should track their calories for at least a few weeks to get a feel of how much they should be eating.
As for Vegetables, look to consume anywhere from 2-3 servings per meal in order to make sure you are providing your body with all the micros, vitamins, and minerals that will keep your body healthy and strong.
Healthy Foods Examples:
Proteins:
Poultry (Chicken, turkey, hen, etc.)
Seafood (Fish, shrimp, scallops, etc.)
Eggs
Greek Yogurt
Cottage Cheese
Legumes (Beans, Edamame, and Chickpeas)
Red Meats (Beef, Pork, Ham)
Carbohydrates
Rice
Quinoa
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Couscous
Fruits
Legumes
Bread
Fats:
Avocado
Fatty Fish (Salmon, Mackerel, Albacore Tuna, etc.)
Oils (Vegetable, Olive, Coconut, etc.)
Butters
Nuts (Almonds, peanuts, cashews, etc.)
Nut Butters
Eggs
Dairy Products
Include all of these foods and some leafy greens into your daily meals, and you will be providing your body with all the necessary nutrients it needs to perform at it's best.
If you're interested on reading more on nutrition and how you can improve your nutrition to be able to perform to the best of your ability, while also reaching your aesthetic goals, then feel free to download our free Nutrition Guide!
Thanks for Reading! Get Up. Go GRIND.
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